Method for attachment or integration of a BIOS device into a computer system using the system memory address and data bus

ABSTRACT

Chipset or core logic for attachment of the ROM BIOS within the system architecture. Although normally attached to the ISA bus, the ROM BIOS may be attached to an alternate bus (e.g., the memory bus) located within the system, thereby potentially eliminating the ISA bus from the computer system.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to the following patent applications, filed on even date herewith: Ser. Nos. 08/941,619, 08/940,743, 08/941,663, 08/940,215, and 08/940,215.

This application incorporates by reference application Ser. Nos. 08/941,619 and 08/941,663.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the use of the ROM BIOS in a personal computer. More particularly, the present invention relates to the manner in which the ROM BIOS is integrated into or attached to the computer system.

BACKGROUND

Over the past fifteen years, continual advances in microprocessor technology have pushed the performance of personal computers to increasingly higher levels. New applications for personal computers have required significant processing power, and also have required significant amounts of data to be transferred between the computer's central processing unit and peripheral devices. This has prompted attempts to improve the manner in which peripheral devices communicate with the processor. And as a result, many changes have been made to the manner in which peripheral devices and the like are attached to the processor.

Normally, peripheral devices communicate with the processor through some form of an expansion bus. One of the earliest bus architectures used for personal computers is what has become known as the AT Attachment or the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus. Over the years, however, additional expansion bus architectures have been developed, some of which have become part of mainstream personal computing. These additional architectures include IBM's Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, and the Extended ISA bus (EISA) bus. More recently, local bus architectures, such as the VL bus architecture and the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus architecture, have become a standard feature in modern personal computers.

As the evolution of expansion busses has progressed, peripheral devices once attached to the ISA bus (or some other legacy bus) have been moved to more modern and higher performance buses, such as the PCI bus. For example, it is now common for the video controller and the hard drive controller, once found on the ISA bus, to be attached to the higher-performance PCI bus.

Nevertheless, most modern computers still typically include the legacy ISA bus for accommodating other older, legacy devices. Although many peripherals are no longer attached to the ISA bus, one common device that does remain on the ISA bus is the ROM BIOS. This device has remained on the ISA bus for a number of reasons, including the fact that moving it to another bus is not easily accomplished. Thus, a need exists for moving the ROM BIOS to a different bus.

SUMMARY

In some embodiments of the present invention, the ROM BIOS is relocated to another bus within the system architecture. For systems where the ROM BIOS is the last remaining device on the ISA bus, this move potentially eliminates the need for the ISA bus and/or associated circuitry. Thus, the present invention may allow peripheral devices to be consolidated on a smaller number of busses, and potentially, on a single bus. This consolidation may reduce the cost and complexity of personal computers. In addition, relocating the ROM BIOS to an alternate point within the system may in some circumstances improve performance. Additional embodiments and features, and the nature of the present invention may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description of the invention, the appended claims, and to the several drawings herein.

For example, in one embodiment, the present invention is a computer comprising a central processing unit, a memory bus, a BIOS device that is connected to the memory bus, and core logic that is connected to the central processing unit and the memory bus. The core logic controls memory operations involving the central processing unit and the system memory, and controls BIOS operations involving the central processing unit and the BIOS device. Additional embodiments and features, and the nature of the present invention may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims, and to the several drawings herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art personal computer employing an ISA bus, a PCI bus, and also a system bus.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the components of the core logic or chipset typically used in modern personal computers.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a personal computer where the ROM BIOS is attached to the system bus.

FIG. 4 is a more detailed block diagram of the interface between the ROM BIOS and the system bus in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art x86 personal computer 100, including a processor 112 and a chip set or core logic 114. The processor 112 is connected to the system memory bus 118 by the chip set 114. Typically, in a computer based on Intel's Pentium, the memory bus 118 has a 32-bit address bus and also a 64-bit data bus. In the embodiment shown, the computer 100 also includes two additional busses, the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus 120 and the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus 122.

The PCI bus 120 is a typically a 32-bit bus on which data and address signals are multiplexed. (The PCI bus 120 can be extended to 64 bits.) The PCI bus is essentially a mezzanine bus that is connected to the system bus 118 through bridge logic 124. A PCI peripheral device 130, which might be a video adapter or hard disk drive controller, is shown attached to the PCI bus in FIG. 1. The PCI bus 120 is also connected to the ISA bus 122 in FIG. 1 through the ISA bridge 128.

The ISA bus 122 shown in FIG. 1 is the standard bus found in almost every IBM-compatible computer manufactured in the last fifteen years. The ISA bus 122 includes a 20-bit address bus and a 16-bit data bus. Attached to the ISA bus 122 is an ISA peripheral device 132. Also connected to the ISA bus 122 is the ROM BIOS 110. As is well known in the art, stored in the ROM BIOS are various support routines and data used at power-up, as well as I/O support routines for accessing the keyboard, the graphics adapter, and other devices.

Often the ROM BIOS 110 in FIG. 1 is implemented by a non-volatile, electrically block-erasable, programmable read-only memory device (e.g., a FLASH memory device). Such a device can be periodically erased and rewritten, thereby permitting re-programming of the BIOS region. ROM BIOS access can be very slow, particularly where a FLASH ROM is used. For this reason, the BIOS routines are usually switched out of the ROM device it initially occupies, and into faster "shadow" memory (e.g., DRAM) at the same addresses. The contents of the ROM BIOS may be compressed, so it may be necessary to decompress it as it is moved into shadow RAM. The movement of the BIOS into shadow RAM typically takes place just after system reset, and once complete, the ROM device is generally not accessed again until a system reset. Once BIOS is shadowed, all accesses to the BIOS are directed to shadow RAM, rather than the ROM device. Because this shadow RAM is significantly faster than the ROM device, access to the BIOS routines is much faster.

The BIOS routines which may be stored in the device 110 in FIG. 1 are generally required to be accessible only to the CPU and, in a 32-bit address space, are addressed at the top 256 Mb of memory space (since that is where the CPU starts after a reset) and in the top 128 Kb of the low 1 megabyte of memory space. For 32-bit memory addresses where a memory cycle is indicated by a MEMCYCLE signal, and where a ROMEN signal indicates whether access to the ROM BIOS device is enabled, an access to a BIOS routine can be detected when the following expression evaluates to a logical one:

    MEMCYCLE*(A31*A30*A29*A28+/(A31::A20)*A19*A18*A17*ROMEN),

where "Axx" corresponds to address bit "xx." The signal ROMEN would be controlled by bits in the configuration registers 190 for the chipset 114. (See FIG. 2.) After system reset, read access to the ROM device is permitted and writes are permitted in the same addresses in the shadow RAM, which allows the move/decompress operation to take place. Once shadowing has occurred, the ROM would no longer be accessible. However, read operations to the corresponding shadow RAM address space would be permitted, but write operations to this region of RAM would be prohibited. (Note that during programming of the (FLASH) ROM BIOS device, erasure or write operations can be performed on the ROM device.)

The shadowing procedure known in the art and described above avoids subsequent accesses to the ROM device after its contents are shadowed to faster RAM, but this shadowing procedure does not eliminate the need for the ROM device. The ROM device still will typically be required so that the BIOS routines can be stored in a non-volatile manner. These BIOS routines must also be accessible by the CPU, which has traditionally required an ISA bus. Yet the ROM BIOS may be one of the only devices on the ISA bus, so the ROM BIOS and the other support it requires (e.g., the ISA bus and associated logic) can require a significant amount of hardware, and can account for a non-trivial percentage of the cost of a computer system. In some embodiments, the present invention moves the ROM BIOS to another bus within the computer system, thereby eliminating the ROM BIOS' dependence on the ISA bus. In some computer systems, this will allow the ISA bus to be eliminated from the system entirely, saving significant costs.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the chip set or core logic 114 used in some embodiments of the present invention. The chip set 114 includes logic for address decoding 181, logic for cycle type decoding 182, data buffers 183, and a host state machine 184. Numerous other logic modules are also shown in FIG. 2, including modules for PCI arbitration 185, PCI address decoding 186, PCI Address/Data Mux/Demux 187, PCI Buffers 188, and a PCI State Machine 189. The chip set 114 or core logic is often constructed of multiple discrete parts, each of which includes one or more of the modules shown in FIG. 2. However, the same functionality could be obtained in another embodiment by integrating one or more of these separate modules into a single part.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a personal computer based on an x86-based processor. In the embodiment shown, the ROM BIOS 110 is attached to the system memory address and data bus 118, rather than to the ISA bus as shown in FIG. 1. The eight-bit data path from the ROM BIOS 110 is attached to the memory data bus 183 182 through a buffer or latch 220, which buffers the data between the ROM BIOS and the system memory bus 118. Normally, eighteen address lines 151 are used for the ROM BIOS, and the ROM BIOS address ports are connected to the memory address bus over lines 182, and a portion of the memory data bus 183. The additional lines 152 may be used for control signalling.

FIG. 4 is a more detailed and modified block diagram of FIG. 3, where the ROM BIOS 110 is implemented as a FLASH ROM device that contains the BIOS routines and associated initialization code. The core logic 170 controls access to the main memory 174, and interfaces with the video controller 117 through the accelerated graphics port bus 119. The core logic 170 also administers the transfer of data from the ROM BIOS 110. The ROM BIOS addresses are passed from the memory bus 118 to the ROM BIOS 110 over address lines 151. Unlike the address lines 151 in FIG. 3, the address lines that extend to the BIOS device 110 are taken from both the system address bus 182, and the system data bus 183. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the memory 174 uses a multiplexed addressing scheme, which allows the address bus to be only fourteen bits wide (yet addressable with a twenty-eight bit address). For the remaining four bits that the BIOS device may require for its address, a portion of the system data bus 183 is used, as is shown in FIG. 4. Data is passed between the ROM BIOS 110 and the core logic 170 over bus 153, through buffer 220, and over the system data bus 183. Signals 152 are used to control the transfer of data to or from the FLASH memory device 110.

In operation, a ROM BIOS access is initiated by decoding the address on the system address bus 182, and allowing any other operations involving the memory bus to be completed. The core logic 170 then accesses the ROM BIOS 110 by placing an address on the memory address bus 182, and a portion of the memory data bus 183. In the embodiment shown, the core logic 170 places the ROM address on these busses 182 and 183 by placing fourteen bits on the address bus 182, and the remaining four bits on the data bus 183 (e.g., on lines D8 to D11). It is thereby communicated to the ROM BIOS 110 over lines 151. After an appropriate period of time (e.g., the ROM access time), the ROM BIOS 110 responds by placing the addressed data (typically an 8 bit quantity) on bus 153. The data may be gated through a buffer 220, and onto a different portion of the system data bus (e.g., lines D0 to D7). (The buffer may be omitted when signalling levels are compatible and the bus is lightly loaded.) Thus, the address and data preferably occupy two different portions of the system data bus 183. When the access to the ROM BIOS 110 is complete, the chip enable signal is removed and the memory bus 118 and the core logic 170 return to their normal operating mode.

The control signals shown in FIG. 4 include output enable (OE), write enable (WE), and chip enable (CE) signals. These control signals (as well as any others that are not shown) are preferably passed to the ROM BIOS on other lines on the memory control bus or on the system data bus as shown. It may be possible to multiplex the BIOS address and/or data on a smaller number of lines on the memory bus, but since there are typically enough lines available on the bus, it is preferred that different lines be used for address, data, and control signals as described.

The width of the data from the ROM is normally 8 bits, whereas the CPU data path is normally much larger (e.g., 64 bits). In some embodiments of the present invention, the core logic 170 sequences the lower address bits presented to the ROM BIOS 110 so that more than one eight-bit quantity can be read from the ROM BIOS. For example, for a 64-bit CPU data path, the core logic 170 can sequence the lower three bits of the ROM address eight times so that eight bytes of data are read from the ROM BIOS 110 in succession, thereby completing a full 64-bit data word. Using this or similar techniques, the core logic 170 is capable of constructing a larger data quantity (e.g., 32-bits or 64 bits) by aggregating multiple eight bit data units from the ROM BIOS. It may also be more efficient in some embodiments for the core logic to construct a full line of data (e.g., four or two 64-bit quantities). Other performance-enhancing techniques, such as the shadowing operation described above, could also be used with the present invention, and should be understood to be within the scope of the present invention.

By configuring a computer system as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, it is possible to attach the ROM BIOS to the memory bus 118, thereby potentially eliminating the need for the ISA bus. The present invention will therefore reduce system complexity and manufacturing costs, and may also enhance system performance. Although a discrete implementation is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 using multiple parts, it should be understood that the present invention encompasses implementations and embodiments where some or all of the equivalent logic is integrated into the core logic 170 or into the ROM BIOS or FLASH memory device 110. And although the present invention has been shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments, various changes and modifications that are obvious to a person skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, even if not shown or specifically described herein, are deemed to lie within the spirit and scope of the invention and the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of accessing a BIOS device in a computer system having a central processing unit, a core logic, a memory bus that can operate in a normal mode, and a BIOS device on the memory bus, the method comprising the acts of:in the core logic, decoding signals on the memory bus; if a BIOS access is desired, preventing the memory bus form operating in a normal mode; presenting an address to the BIOS device by having the core logic place the address on the memory bus; in the core logic, receiving data stored in the BIOS device at the address by sampling a portion of the memory bus; transferring the data to the central processing unit; and then operating the memory bus in a normal mode.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the act of sequencing a plurality of low-order bits on the address so that data from more than one addressable location is read from the BIOS device before the data is transferred to the central processing unit.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the act of transferring at least some of the contents of the BIOS device to faster memory at system start-up.
 4. A method of executing BIOS instructions in a computer system having a memory bus with address lines and data lines, a BIOS device that is attached to the memory bus and that has BIOS instructions stored therein, a central processing unit, and a core logic, wherein the memory bus normally operates in a first mode, the method comprising the acts of:bypassing the first mode of operation; having the core logic place the address of the BIOS device on the memory bus, wherein the address occupies some of the data lines on the memory bus so that the address is presented to the BIOS device; waiting for the BIOS device to place the addressed data on the memory bus; reading the addressed data from the BIOS device by sampling a different set of data lines on the memory bus; transferring the data from the BIOS device to the central processing unit; and returning to the first mode of operation.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the act of sequencing a plurality of low-order bits on the address presented to the BIOS device so that data from more than one addressable location is read from the BIOS device before the data is transferred to the central processing unit.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the act of transferring at least some of the contents of the BIOS device to faster memory at system start-up.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the acts of:communicating a portion of the address presented to the BIOS device by the core logic to the BIOS device over the memory address lines, and communicating another portion of the address to the BIOS device over the memory data lines.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the act of presenting the entire address to the BIOS device over the memory address lines.
 9. In a logic device for controlling BIOS operations in a computer system having a memory bus with address lines and data lines, a BIOS device that is attached to the memory bus and that has BIOS instructions stored therein, a central processing unit, and a core logic, wherein the memory bus normally operates in a first mode, a method comprising the acts of:in the core logic, decoding signals on the memory bus; if a BIOS access is desired, preventing the memory bus from operating in the first mode; waiting for previously-initiated operations on the memory bus to complete; presenting an address to the BIOS device by having the core logic place the address on the memory bus, in the core logic, receiving data stored in the BIOS device at the address by sampling a portion of the memory bus, transferring the data to the central processing unit; and returning to the first mode of operation.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the act of sequencing a plurality of low-order bits on the address so that data from more than one addressable location is read from the BIOS device before the data is transferred to the central processing unit.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the act of transferring at least some of the contents of the BIOS device to faster memory at system start-up.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the act of presenting an address to the BIOS device, and the act of receiving data involve data transfers on different portions of the memory bus.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the acts of:communicating a portion of the address presented to the BIOS device by the core logic to the BIOS device over the memory address lines, and communicating another portion of the address to the BIOS device over the memory data lines.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the act of presenting an address to the BIOS device includes the act of presenting an address to a non-volatile, electrically-erasable, programmable read-only memory device.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the act of receiving data stored in the BIOS device includes the act of receiving eight-bit data units that are stored in an eighteen-bit address space within the non-volatile, electrically-erasable, programmable read-only memory device. 